Dumping-car



No. 751,437. PATENTED FEB. 2, 1904.

A. STUGKI, DUMPING GAR.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 24, 1902.

- N0 KODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

""005 amino Wihmooeb Quorum;

moms. in c. m: upnm: PETERS co vuurm.rno .w.su

No. 751,437. I PATENTED, FEB. 2, 1904.

- A. STUGKI.

DUMPING GAR. APPLICATION FILED 001'. 24, 1902 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

QALLQQI mzmnams wzrrre co. worrumm" wuumamm ov a.

PatentedFebruary 2, 1904.

ARNOLD STUCKI, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

DUMPING-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 751,437, dated February 2, 1904.

Application filed October 24, 1902. Serial No. 128,643- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARNOLD S'rUoKI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Allegheny, in

the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsyl-.

vania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Dumping-Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip-v tion. 1

The primary object of this invention is to provide a side-dump car for use in the transportation of limestone, although the car may be used for other purposes. V

In carrying out the invention in its preferred form a steel underfra'me, so called, is used with a superstructure composed of a central inverted-V-shaped ridge extending the entire length of the body and forming the bottom, sides comprising vertical side sheetsconnected by posts with the underframe, converging doors hinged at their upper ends to the side sheets, and vertical end sheets connected with the ridge and providedwith inwardly-inclined plates. The doors on opposite sides of the car are arranged in series and connected with independent operating mechanism, so that the doors on opposite sides may be independently opened and closed, and, if desired, any number of doors on a side may be connected for independent operation. The operating-shafts for the doors are mounted longitudinally of the car beneath or within the ridge, and their connecting means extend through hoods in the ridge to the outer lower edges of the doors, so that when the operat' ing mechanism is released the weight or pressureof the load may be availed of to assist gravity in opening the doors, all as will be now-more particularly set forth and finally claimed.

An added feature of the invention. is the provision of power apparatus for use in connection with the door-operating mechanism, and in illustration of this feature of the invention the shafts are shown as supplied with a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism actuated by an air-cylinder and connections, said air-cylinder deriving its power from the air-brake system or from a separate source. I

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which hand half a vertical section in the plane of the likeparts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a top plan view, the left-handhalf being in the plane of the underframe and the right hand half being in the plane of the top of the body. Fig. 2 shows in its left-hand half a vertical section through the central ridge and in its right-hand half a side elevation. Fig. 3 shows in its left-hand half a vertical section near the center of the car and in its rightbolster. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the power apparatus for actuating the door-operating mechanism. Fig." 5 is a side elevation of such apparatus, these views Figs. 4 and 5 being on a larger scale than the other views and Fig. 3 being on a larger scale than Figs. 1. and 2. p r

Without thereby limiting the invention to the specific details, it is suflicient to say that the underframe preferably is of metal, its parts being pressed. or rolled to shape and comprising side sills 1, center sills 2, a builtup bolster 3, and suitable end sills 4, riveted together in any usual way. The bottom is composed of plates 5, arranged to form an inverted V and having flanges 6 at the apex, which are riveted together, edge flanges 7 which are riveted to the side sills, and end flanges 8, riveted to the end sheets; These plates 5 are supplied with.supporting and stiflening-angles 9 on their under side, to which they may be riveted, and between these angles and the underframe or cross-bars 10 erected upon the underframe are braces 11, arranged obliquely or in such other way as to best distribute the strains. The sides 12 may be of sheets of metal made with or having applied to them longitudinal flanges 13 and 14, and these sides are=supported on the side sills by means of vertical stakes or posts 15, riveted to them and to the side sills. The vertical ends 16, as shown in Fig. 2, may extend the whole height of the car-body and be riveted at their lower ends to flanges 17 rising from or made as a part of the end sills 4, and the said end sheets'may have their upper edges reinforced by angles 18 riveted-to them. In order to avoid the formation of right angles at the ends of the car and to insure the discharge of the load, there may be provided 100 within the body of the car the inclined bottom end sheets 19, riveted to the ends 16 and the bottom plates or otherwise disposed. The ends 16 may be connected with the side sheets and the side sills by corner-posts20, if desired, which are riveted to both. (See Fig. 2.)

The car-body has at its center oppositelydisposed transverse housings 21, (see half in Fig. 1 and the whole dotted in in Fig. 2,) composed of flanged plates riveted together at their apices and to the plates 5, with vertical wings 22 flanged and riveted at their upper ends to the sides of the car and at their lower ends inserted and riveted between the constituent plates of the housings and between their ends riveted to and between the side posts. Other plates, 23, disposed in connected pairs transversely of the body, are riveted to the bottom plates 5 by means of lateral flanges and also riveted to the adjacent side posts 15 by similar flanges. These plates 23 are bulged out, and they and the housings form hoods, eon stituting passage-ways for the door-operating mechanism hereinafter specified. Between the apexial flanges 24 of the plates 23 are riveted the wings 25, projecting transversely into the body, flanged at their upper ends and riveted there to the sides and also riveted to the side posts. Thus the central ridge serves not only as a bottom for the body, but also as a sort of backbone for tying the parts of the superstructure, and thereby stiffening and strengthening it.

The doors 26 are hinged at 27 to the sides 12, and the said doors are provided with reinforcing horizontal angles 28 near their upper ends and by similar angles 29 near their lower ends, such lower ends closing against the bottom edges of the hoods and the central ridge and the sides of the doors closing against the posts. Adjacent doors are preferably tied by means of loops 30,and each of the end doors of a series is provided with a loop 31. All of the doors on each side of the car may be connected for simultaneous operation, or any number of such doors may be so connected in series; but, as herein shown, the doors on each side are connected in two series for independent operation in series. There is a shaft 32 for each series of doors, and this shaft is mounted in bearings 33, supported upon transverse plates 34, secured to the under sides of the plates 5, and, as shown, there may be additional transverse tie-plates and shaft-supports 35 erected between and secured to the plates 5. The shaft likewise has a bearing in the end sheet of the car. Each door is connected with the shaft 32 by a chain 36 and a link 37, which link has an eye 38 engaging the loop 30 or 31 of the adjacent door, and these links project through the passage-ways formed by the housings and plates before described, said housings and plates serving to cover in the said links and constituting part of the closed bottom of the car.

Each shaft 32 is supplied with an operating mechanism of any approved construction; but I prefer to provide a power mechanism for its operation, which may be of the following character: 39 is a motor of any approved construction and preferably such as an air-cylinder to the piston of which is connected a lever 40, pivoted to a bracket 41, affixed to the end sheet of the car, and this lever 40 has alink 42 projecting upwardly through a guide 43 and connected with the slotted ends 44 of crossed links 45, which in turn are jointed to the pawls 46 of the ratchets 47 of opposite shafts 32. These pawls 46 are supplied with gravity-dogs 48 to hold them in engagement with the ratchets. When it is desired to open the doors on either side of the car, the dog 48 is disengaged from its adjacent pawl 46, and then by admitting pressure to the cylinder 39 the lever 40 is depressed and the link 42 thereby raised and acting upon the link 45 of the disengaged pawl moves said pawl out of engagement with its appropriate ratchet, and thus allows the weight of the load, added to the gravity of the doors, to open said doors and discharge the load from that portion of the car covered by the doors so operated. Obviously if both dogs be disengaged from their adjacent pawls the same movement of the lever 40 will disengage both pawls from their appropriate ratchet s, and thus the doors on both sides of the car will be opened. The slotted ends of the links 45 and the guide 43 permit the necessary lost motion to enable one or th e other of said links 45 to be actuated independently. The pawl being enlarged at the lower end can be knocked 013?, as by hand in case there is no power at hand,,and the slots permit this without having the power apparatus affected thereby. The shafts 32 are provided with squared ends, as shown in Fig. 4, in order to permit of the application of a wrench or crank to turn the shafts in order to wind up the chains thereupon, and thereby close the doors.' As many such shafts 32 and their operating mechanism will be supplied as there are series of doors to be independently operated. The invention, however, is not limited to the use of the power appliances for opening the doors hereinabove described, although I prefer to use such mechanism.

It will be observed that the winding-shafts, chains, and links connecting them with the doors are all under cover, and so protected to that extent from the elements and frond external violence.

The housings inclose the links of the two doors nearest the center of the car and in addition serve to distribute the load and facilitate .its discharge in sections, in accordance with the division of the body into practically a number of pockets. By this apparatus the doors can be released suddenly, which in turn will prevent material of a pasty nature from sticking, as would be the case were the doors v to hold the doors in closed position.

By the construction described a very stifl but simple side-dumping car is provided.

It is to be understood that in the construction of the car rolled or pressed shapes may be used, as desired, and variations in the construction and arrangement of parts are permissible within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is- 1. A dumping-car, having an inverted-V- shaped bottom, side doors, a door-operating shaft arranged beneath said bottom, hoods erected uponsaid bottom, and connections be: tween the shaft and doors extending through said hoods.

2. A dumping-car, having an underframe, a body erected thereupon and comprising essentially an inverted-V-shaped bottom extending longitudinally of the car and secured to the underframe, vertical side sheets, side posts connecting the side sheets with the underframe, transverse hoods between the side posts and bottom, and transverse wings interposed between and connecting the side sheets, side' posts and hoods.

3. A dumping-car, having an underframe, a superstructure comprising an inverted-V- shaped bottom extending the length of the car and mounted upon theunderframe, side and end sheets, posts connecting the side sheets with the underframe, transverse vertical hoods erected between the bottom and posts, and wings connecting the side sheets, hoods and side posts.

4. In a dumping-car having an underframe, a body having an inverted-V-shaped bottom erected upon the underframe, side sheets, posts connecting the side sheets and the underframe, vertical housings or hoods interposed between and connecting the side posts and bottom, doors hinged to the side sheets and closing next the underframe, windingshafts mounted in bearings beneath the bottom, and connections between the said wind ing-shafts and doors projecting through the hoods.

5. In a dumping-car, an underframe, a body erected thereupon and having side doors and a bottom with a central longitudinal ridge, side sheets to which the doors are hinged, divided angular posts connecting the underframe and side sheets, and transverse vertical hoods connected to the bottom and to the divided posts and forming passage-ways for the dooroperating connections.

6. In a dumping-car, having a body comprising a central longitudinal inverted-V-shaped bottom, vertical side sheets, and ends, an underframe upon which it is erected, side posts connecting the sides and unclerframe, transverse tie-pieces connected to the lower sides of the bottom, braces interposed between said bottom and the underframe, and transversehoods connecting the bottom and side posts.

-7. In a dumping-car, having an underframe, a superstructure including an inverted-V- shaped bottom, sides, posts connecting the sides with the underframe, end sheets connected with the underframe, inclined inner end plates, transverse wings connecting the posts and the bottom, doors hinged to the side sheets, and door-operating shafts mounted in bearings beneath the bottom and con-- nected by covered passage-ways with the lower ends of the doors.

8. In a dumping-car, doors having operating mechanism, including a shaft connected with said doors and adapted to be operated to open and close said doors, dogging mechanism to hold the said shaft in a given position, and a power mechanism for actuating said dogging mechanism.

9. The combination of a winding-shaft, a ratchet thereon, a pawl for said ratchet, a dog for said pawl, a motor, and a lever connection between said motor and said pawl for displacing the pawl to permit the operation of the shaft.

10. The combination of a pair of shafts, a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism for each shaft,

'links having slotted ends and applied to the pawls, the slotted ends of said links being crossed, a link connected to said slotted ends,

a lever upon which the last-mentioned link is mounted, a power appliance connected with said lever, and means to permit either or both of said slotted links to be moved to release either or both of the pawl-and-ratchet mech-' anisms.

11. In a dumping-car, the combination of a side door, awinding-shaft, a ratchet thereon, a pawl for said ratchet, a dog for said pawl, a motor, a lever vibrated by said motor, and a connection between said lever and said pawl for displacing the pawl to release the shaft and permit the operation of the door.

12. In a dumping-car, the combination of doors on opposite sides, an independent winding-shaft for opposite doors, a ratchet on each shaft, a pawl for each ratchet, a link attached to each pawl, a lever having a connection common to the two links, a motor for vibrating said lever, and independent dogs for controlling the pawls.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of August, A. D. 1902.

ARNOLD sTUoKI. 

